Joe Satriani spoke to Undercover about the fears of potential G3 hopefuls.
On the verge of Satriani's solo tour to South America, he speaks to Undercover about the impending first G3 tour of Australia, featuring guitar gods Joe, Steve Vai and John Petrucci. Satriani says it has taken ten years of this multi-virtuoso concept to reach our shores.This seems absurd, since the concept of gathering the greatest guitarists of our era together makes perfect sense. "I wanted to be able to play with other people on a regular basis," he muses, but it took a whole year to convince other agents, managers and players that it was a good idea. "I knew the audience was dying for it, because I was. I would've loved to see Hendrix, Beck, Page and Clapton get together on a regular basis."
Satriani attributes the initial difficulty to fear and jealousy, "You have to understand that before we did it, it didn't exist. You'd say to another guitarist that you should play regularly on the same bill, with someone who does just what you do and trade solos, the fear that would rise up on the other end of the phone," Satriani snickers, "We had to break down some conceptions we're all taught in the music business."
But after the assorted guitarists who have appeared as G3 shook off their hang-ups, Satriani says, "We were thinking about what the audience wants to see and what the artistic goals are. That was the approach that made us feel like G3's a natural. We know the audience wants it and we know the guitarist, once they get over the fear factor, will find it artistically stimulating."
"Everyone who we've had on the G3 tour has been a stand-up musician, unique on their own," Satriani explains, "They never engage in that kind of competition because they're very sure of what they do." After they filmed and recorded the first tour, Satriani says that G3 hopefuls (including Yngwie Malmsteen, Robert Fripp, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and more) could finally see what they were trying to achieve. "We were trying to create something that was larger than the parts," Satriani confirms, "I knew it would happen. When I was growing up I'd see other famous artists jam and I'd say 'Wow, they're not engaged in a contest at all.' The presence of more musical stars on stage made it great for the audience, sends shock waves through the audience, and they love it."
